Chapter 33 #2
"Aster." He breathed my name like a prayer, his forehead dropping to rest against mine, his tears falling freely now, his voice wobbling with emotion, his hands sliding up to cup my face in return.
"I love you too. I've loved you for so long.
Since the moment you called me ridiculous and meant it as a compliment. "
"It was a compliment." I laughed, the sound wet with my own tears, my hands sliding into his hair, my heart overflowing, my voice thick with emotion. "You're the most ridiculous, wonderful, perfect person I've ever met."
He kissed me then — not the playful pecks he usually gave, but something deeper, something that tasted like tears and joy and the promise of forever. His hands pulled me closer, his body warm and solid against mine, his purr rumbling through both of us.
"Get a room." Reid's voice came from the table, but there was no heat in it, only warmth and amusement, his dark eyes soft as he watched us, his coffee cup raised to his lips to hide his smile.
Kol pulled back with a grin, his golden eyes still wet, his smile so bright it could have lit up the whole room, his arms still wrapped around me.
"Don't be jealous, boss man." His voice was teasing, his arms still wrapped around me, his chin coming to rest on top of my head, his chest vibrating with a contented purr. "There's plenty of Aster love to go around."
"I'm not jealous." Reid took a sip of his coffee, his lips twitching toward a smile, his voice dry and fond, his dark eyes warm as they met mine over Kol's shoulder. "I'm hungry. And the eggs are getting cold."
Breakfast was a chaotic, wonderful affair.
Sawyer appeared halfway through, sliding into the chair beside me without a word, his hand finding my thigh under the table and staying there, his amber eyes soft when they met mine.
Nolan came in from the clinic, looking tired but happy, his sandy hair disheveled, his green eyes soft when they landed on me.
Underneath the warmth, the laughter, the easy love that flowed between all of us, I could feel the tension.
The awareness that something was coming.
That the peace we'd built was fragile, threatened by forces we couldn't quite see.
After breakfast, I found Nolan in the clinic, bent over his desk, surrounded by papers and medical charts. He looked up when I knocked on the doorframe, his tired face softening into a smile, his green eyes warm with welcome.
"Hey, you." His voice was gentle, fond, as he pushed back from his desk and held out his hand toward me, his fingers beckoning, his chair creaking as he shifted to make room. "Come here."
I crossed the room and let him pull me into his lap, settling against his chest with a sigh, my head tucking under his chin, my body relaxing into his warmth.
"Long morning?" His voice was soft, his hand stroking down my back in long, soothing passes, his purr starting up low and steady beneath my ear, his other arm wrapping around my waist to hold me close.
"Strange morning." I shifted to look up at him, my hand resting on his chest, my brow furrowing with worry, my voice quiet with concern. "Reid thinks someone's been sabotaging the ranch. The fence on the north pasture was cut."
Nolan's expression shifted, concern replacing the softness, his hand stilling on my back, his green eyes sharpening with focus, his jaw tightening.
"Cut?" His voice was careful, clinical, his mind already working through the implications, his brow furrowing deeply. "Not broken? Not weathered?"
"Cut." I confirmed, my voice flat, my jaw tight with worry, my fingers curling into his shirt. "Clean through. Like someone took a saw to it."
"Easton." It wasn't a question, his voice hard with certainty, his arms tightening around me protectively, his scent going sharp with something dangerous, his whole body tensing beneath me.
"Maybe." I pressed closer to him, needing the comfort of his warmth, the steadiness of his heartbeat beneath my ear, my voice small against his chest. "Reid's not sure. But I am. I know it's him. Who else would it be?"
"Your instincts are good." Nolan's voice was soft, certain, his hand resuming its soothing strokes down my back, his chin resting on top of my head, his purr rumbling through both of us. "If you feel like something's wrong, something probably is."
We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of worry pressing down on both of us. I could feel his tension, his fear, his fierce determination to protect me from whatever was coming.
"Nolan." I tilted my head up to look at him, my hand coming up to cup his face, my voice soft with something important, my heart pounding against my ribs.
"Hmm?" He looked down at me, his green eyes soft and questioning, his brow slightly furrowed, his hand coming up to cover mine where it rested on his cheek, his thumb stroking across my knuckles.
"I love you." The words came out steady, certain, my eyes holding his, my heart pounding with the truth of it, my voice fierce with conviction. "I love you, Nolan."
His breath caught, his eyes going wide, his whole body stilling beneath me, his lips parting in shock, his hand trembling against mine.
"You..." His voice cracked, his eyes searching mine like he was looking for confirmation, his hand trembling against mine, his green eyes bright with sudden emotion. "You love me?"
"I love you." I said it again, firmer this time, my thumb stroking across his cheekbone, my voice fierce with conviction, my eyes never leaving his.
"I love your gentle hands and your patient heart and the way you take care of everyone without ever asking for anything in return.
I love how you look at me like I'm something precious. I love you, Nolan. All of you."
His face crumpled, tears spilling over, his arms crushing me against his chest, his whole body shaking with the force of his emotion, his purr stuttering and then intensifying.
"Aster." My name came out broken, muffled against my hair, his voice thick with tears, his hands clutching at me like I might disappear.
"God, Aster. I love you too. I've loved you since the moment you let me hold your hand in this very room.
Since you trusted me when you had no reason to trust anyone. "
"I had every reason." I pulled back enough to look at him, cupping his face in both hands, wiping away his tears with my thumbs, my voice soft and certain, my eyes bright with emotion.
"You gave me every reason. You and Reid and Kol and Sawyer.
You showed me what it meant to be loved. What it meant to belong."
He kissed me then, soft and sweet and tasting of tears, his hands gentle on my face, his purr rumbling through both of us like a promise. When we finally pulled apart, his green eyes were still wet, but they were shining with a joy so bright it made my chest ache.
"Whatever's coming." His voice was soft but fierce, his hands tightening on my face, his gaze burning into mine, his jaw set with determination. "Whatever Easton's planning. We'll face it together. All of us. As a pack."
"As a pack." I agreed, leaning forward to press my forehead against his, breathing him in — eucalyptus and honey and home, my eyes closing in contentment.
Even as I said the words, I couldn't shake the feeling that the storm was coming.
We weren't ready.
That night, I lay in the nest surrounded by my Alphas, their bodies warm and solid around me, their scents mingling into something that smelled like safety and love and home.
Reid at my front, his arms wrapped around me.
Kol at my back, his face pressed into my hair.
Nolan near my head, his fingers trailing through my hair.
Sawyer at the edge, his hand resting on my hip, his purr a low rumble that vibrated through all of us.
I'd told them all I loved them now. I'd given them that piece of myself, that vulnerability I'd guarded so fiercely for so long.
And they'd given it back, every single one of them, their love washing over me like a wave.
Underneath the warmth, the contentment, the bone-deep satisfaction of being surrounded by my pack, I could feel something else.
Fear.
Because I knew, with the same instinct that had kept me alive all these years, that Easton wasn't done. That the cut fence and the slashed feed bags and the missing tools were just the beginning. He was coming for me…or maybe something else. I wasn’t sure…
.but I knew these men would be here the whole time.